11 Nigerian states record improved internal revenue in 2015

With declining global oil prices putting increasing pressure on states to explore alternative ways to shore up their revenue earnings, only 11 of Nigeria’s 36 states improved their internally generated revenue, IGR, in 2015.

The National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, in its latest IGR report on Thursday named Ogun, Anambra, Borno, Edo, Bauchi, Abia, Kogi, Nasarawa, Niger, Taraba and Sokoto as the only states that bettered their 2014 records of revenue generation performance in 2015.

The NBS, which relied on records obtained from the Joint Tax Board and states’ boards of internal revenue, said the IGR earnings in 24 other states declined from the levels attained the previous year.

Among the 24 states that performed poorly included Kwara, Imo, Bayelsa, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Benue, Cross River, Delta, Ekiti, Enugu, Gombe, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Lagos, Ondo, Osun, Oyo,  Plateau, Rivers, Yobe, and Zamfara.

Ebonyi was the only state whose internally generated revenue records were not available.

Overall performance of the 36 states showed that the total IGR realised for the year dropped by 3.69 per cent, from N707.86 billion in 2014 to N682.67 billion.

Details of the respective states’ performances showed that Ogun State’s IGR records were adjudged best, with a 49.42 per cent increase, almost doubling the N17.5 billion revenue earned in 2014 to N34.6 billion.

Anambra followed closely, with its IGR rising by about 29.32 per cent from N10.45 billion in 2014 to N14.79 billion, while Borno came third with a 21.8 per cent improvement from N2.76 billion the previous year to N3.53 billion.

Other states with improved performances included Edo (10.95 per cent), Bauchi (10.2 per cent), Sokoto (9.75 per cent), Taraba (8.57 per cent), Abia (7.33 per cent), Nasarawa (4.59 per cent), Niger (3.98 per cent) and Kogi (3.05 per cent).

Among the poor performers, the NBS showed that Kwara state topped, with its IGR declining massively by about 73.57 per cent, from about N12.46 billion realised in 2014, to about N7.18 billion in 2015.

The state was followed by Imo, whose IGR in 2014 dropped by 48.3 per cent, from N8.12 billion to N5.47 billion the following year. Yobe state came third with a 36.53 per cent drop in its IGR from N3.07 billion in 2014 to N2.74 billion in 2015.

Others included Bayelsa (25.76 per cent), Jigawa (23.46 per cent), Plateau (19.42 per cent),  Ondo (16.05 per cent), Cross River (16.01 per cent), Zamfara (14.88 per cent), Adamawa (12.19 per cent), Kaduna (10.8 per cent) and Gombe (8.61 per cent).

Also included among the poor performers were Benue (8.55 per cent), Rivers (8.54 per cent), Katsina (7.46 per cent), Kebbi (6.73 per cent), Enugu (6.47 per cent), Akwa Ibom (5.99 per cent), Osun (5.45 per cent), Ekiti (4.99 per cent), Delta (4.93 per cent), Oyo (4.11 per cent), Lagos (2. 96 per cent), and Kano (0.37 per cent).

Among the oil producing states of the Niger Delta, apart from Edo and Abia, all others could not meet their 2014 IGR levels, with their average earnings dropping by about 6.6 per cent.

In terms of IGR volume, Lagos state was ranked highest with a total of N268.23 billion during the year, followed by Rivers with N82.1 billion, and Delta, with N40.81 billion.

At the inception of the present administration, no fewer than 30 states were said to be distressed financially as a result of the declining earnings from oil exports. Global oil price dropped from an average of $100 per barrel to $24 late last year. Oil now sells for about $40 a barrel.

To enable the states meet their minimum obligations, particularly in respect of payment of workers’ salaries, the federal government unfolded a bail-out package for all the states.

But, Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, said only 19 of the affected states applied for and received various sums from the facility.

Beneficiaries included Kwara, Zamfara, Osun, Niger, Bauchi, Gombe, Abia, Adamawa, Ondo, Kebbi, Ekiti, Imo, Ebonyi, Ogun, Plateau, Nasarawa, Sokoto, Edo and Oyo states.

Although Akwa Ibom and Rivers states were not among the beneficiaries of the bail-out, their respective legislative assemblies recently approved requests from their governors for various loan facilities to enable them survive.

The two states are among those that receive the highest allocations from the federation account every month.